Sunday, 30 September 2012

I usually amble down to this pavement bar, Gio's, during the late afternoon in order to turn the netbook on, order a refreshing restorative, and broadcast Lord Belmont's pearls of wisdom to the Globe.

I spent about four hours on the beach again today. I have been walking barefoot, holding on to the flip-flops.

One reason is that I wish to allow my toe blister to heal before I wear the Crocs again; another motive being that I am of the belief that walking barefoot toughens the soles of one's feet, thus eradicating years of hard skin.

It must improve the natural "foot-print", too. Our feet are spoiled by a lifetime of mollycoddling in comfortable footwear.

Being abroad in a hot climate affords a great opportunity to harden up the soles.

I revisited Dali's restaurant last night and sat at a little table outside, beside the window. The owner usually stands at the entrance to greet established and prospective patrons.

For the first course I ordered the "Playful" salad, more akin to a smoked salmon salad. They use balsamic vinegar as the salad dressing here.

Unfortunately the playful salad proved to be a meal in itself; I say Unfortunately because the nose-bag is not overly spacious.

It consisted of a dressed salad at the bottom of a kind of deep soup dish, with plentiful smoked salmon laid on top, with a tomato peeled like a rose.

The rim of the dish had orange slices.

I pronounced this to be delicious. During the interval, a party of six arrived and asked for a table. Wolfie looked round his tables and said Regrettably No. They talked for a minute. I immediately realised that I was sitting at a two-seat table, with two two-seat tables beside me.

I was about to suggest that I remove to another table when Wolfie approached and enquired if I'd do that very thing.

Chivalrous as always (!), I said Not At All; Think Nothing Of It, and got up.

The party of six were most appreciative ~ as was Wolfie ~ and thanked me effusively. They told Wolfie to offer me a drink.

Well, my main course subsequently arrived, Roulade of fresh salmon in a Vermouth sauce. It was served with salad and a bowl of fries.

This, too, was very good; though the old nose-bag was about to explode by this stage. Timothy Belmont was full as a ... Grandee of the First Class. Ha!.

Wolfie asked me what I'd like to drink. I was reluctant to have alcohol, though succumbed to a little carafe of red wine.

If anyone reading my blog happens to have a Brackenber uniform in their possession; or could even take a photograph of it, I'd be keen to publish it here. I attended Brackenber in the early seventies.I have checked the internet and there is scarcely any information about Brackenber or, to give the school its full name, Brackenber House Preparatory School. The school was an old, Victorian villa in Cleaver Avenue, south Belfast; and it was demolished many years ago in order to make way for a housing development.This is the only entry which gives a little information. A past pupil has taken the trouble to publish this.In my time, the headmaster was John Craig. Other teachers included Harvey Cross, Frank McQuoid, John Magowan, Miss Rankin, Mr Sheehan, Mr Maguire, Mr Bull, Dorothy Dunlop and Mrs Horne among others.Two names always amused me: Mr Bull, appropriately enough, taught physical education; and guess what Mrs Horne taught? That's correct, music!There were many fellow pupils there; however I particularly recall Patrick "Paki" Lowry, Roderick Mitchell, Paul Moffatt (furniture), Richard Pierce, Johnny Irvine (ITN), Andrew Gemmil, Howard Hastings (hotels), Alan McKelvey, Elmes, Jay Piggott (CCB headmaster), Nicholas Tougher, Nigel Coates and lots of others.During my time at Brackenber, my prowess on the track was almost invincible, believe it or not. I won the senior 100 yards; senior hurdles; long jump; and 220 yards. These victories culminated in my being presented with the Victor Ludorum trophy in 1973. I'm blowing my own trumpet, since nobody else is offering!The uniform consisted of long, knee-length socks which were mainly grey with red tops; grey shorts; a red blazer with white BHS insignia on the breast-pocket; a red and white striped tie; and a red school-boy's cap with white lettering insignia, too.I'm afraid that, sadly, I can find only a mere sock - which hasn't been washed since it was last worn, 35 years ago - along with the Old Brackenbrian tie; the cap is somewhere and I imagine I'll come across it eventually. The old boys' tie is maroon, black and white striped. The uniform was scarlet in colour, like the colour of the Grenadier Guards! My House was called Hawks, and we all had little, circular enamel badges to display in our button-holes in order to identify which house well belonged to.Once again, if there are any Old Brackenbrians out there reading this, and they could send me a photograph of the uniform - anything at all, even a photograph of the school - I shall publish it here.

I spent the day on the beach yesterday. The sand is so hot at times; it reminds me of Dudley Moore's comedy film, TEN.

How amusing was it to watch him on the beach, getting the soles of his feet burnt by the sand, and using towels to get from A to B?

The climate remains fine here, in Gran Canaria.

Methinks that tonight I might revisit Dali's gastronomic emporium. The steaks are rather large; so, depending on the old appetite, I might opt for fish again, or have a main course followed by a dessert.

You recall the little restaurant I alluded to the other day? It goes by the name of Dali's. Well, it was open last night, so I perused the menu again briefly and loitered a few seconds till the proprietor greeted me.

He said I could sit at any table I wished, except the reserved one.

This is a very small establishment, dear readers. Its complement of tables is about eight, at a push. Most are outside on the terrace.

Dali's is a gem amongst swine. the chef-owner is an artist in his spare time. His oil paintings adorn one of the windows.

Dali's states that it is romantic in ambiance; unique and relaxed. Works of art abound.

I was shown the menu. Gourmet prawn cocktail is an item on the menu that Timothy Belmont finds almost irresistible. I ordered it.

Subsequently I chose the "orchestra" of halibut and Salmon in a rich, cream sauce.

Wolfie, the owner, brought me a refreshing aperitif served with ice-cubes in a brandy balloon glass; with tiny cubes of toast and a sort of pate.

By this stage, the tiny restaurant was almost full with patrons.

My prawn cocktail arrived, served in a glass dish shaped like a conch-shell.

This starter was superb: The seafood sauce had been blended to the perfect consistency, with the appropriate tangy balance of tomato sauce and mayonnaise. There were dozens of prawns and four or five lettuce-leaves arranged round the side of the dish.

The top was crowned with a peeled tomato which resembled a red rose (had they guessed my ancestry?). Ha!

Service is diligent:. This is, however, not a place to frequent if you are in a hurry.. The grub is prepared freshly and to order. You can sit at your table for as long as you wish, soaking in the decadent atmosphere and courteous service.

My main course arrived. It was served in a cast-iron, deep-sided pot affair. The salmon and halibut were nestling in a sublime sauce of cream, mild mustard and lord knows what else. Suffice it to state that this concoction hot the spot, bang on target.

I was brought a side plate of what looked like champ, as we fondly call it in Ulster: mashed potato and spring onions ~ scallions.

To complement this course, another side plate of mixed salad in balsamic vinegar was presented to me.

for such a diminutive restaurant, they perform culinary masterpieces here; nay, miracles.

Rest assured, friends, the Belmont nose-bag was firmly affixed for an hour or two here.

I washed it all down with a large glass of red wine. Wolfie asked me if I'd like coffee. He duly brought a small cup of fine coffee, served on a tiny silver-coloured salver, with a ginger biscuit.

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

I went for a stroll this morning, after breakfast, towards a palatial hotel on the edge of the sand dunes. Twitchers, I spotted my first hoopoe, about five yards from me.

At approximate intervals of three hundred yards, there are public weighing scales on the foot-paths in this resort. Is this a subtle inference for those of us with a beady eye on the old doughnuts every hour or so?

Their maximum payload seems to be 120 kilogrammes, whatever that is in pounds and ounces. the Earl of Belmont's inconsiderable bulk may not register thereon (!).

These prehistoric scales used to grace every chemist's shop in the British Isles. Did the British Pharmaceutical Association do a deal with Gran Canaria a few decades ago?

I HAD A very good meal last night. Dali's was closed. I'd been recommended another establishment called Brasserie Entre Nous.

Its aspect is quite unpretentious, akin to a bistro. Nevertheless, Isaac & Nadia are purveyors of jolly good nosh.

I had the fillets of pork, served in a fine wholegrain mustard sauce, with various artfully prepared vegetables, including broccoli, baby carrot and potato.

The potato, however, was served in a kind of oblong cake.

This main course Timothy Belmont professed to be very good indeed.

I was brought a basket of the ubiquitous bread. Alas, they had no alioli, though there was abundant creamy mustard sauce on the plate.

I had a glass of red plonk with the meal.

For pudding, I opted for the chocolate mousse. No complaints here, either.

I arrived at the Mandarin City Chinese restaurant on Wednesday evening slightly early, after seven, so ventured to the counter and ordered a snifter, which happened to be Bombay Sapphire.

Isn't it a wonder the Political Correctness Brigade hasn't changed that to Mumbai Sapphire? Ha!

As I sat sipping the restorative, I observed that most of the takeaway customers had a certain rapport with the staff; obviously a good sign.

I have to say that I've been coming to this Chinese establishment occasionally, ever since it opened its doors about 25 years ago (that's a guess: do any readers know when it actually opened?).

It is located on the Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, in a neighbourhood known as Ballyhackamore. Other restaurants in the vicinity include The Point and Horatio Todd's.

BP duly arrived at about seven thirty and we were promptly shown to our table.

The staff here are well presented, diligent and courteous, in my experience.

The decor and ambiance is one of opulence, in an Oriental sense: comfort, warmth and well-being, which actually belies the more prosaic exterior facade.

The restaurant was full, quite a statement of Success, given that it was a Wednesday, let alone the current economic circumstances.

Mandarin City is actually quite large, seating probably over 100 people
on a full night.

BP ordered the usual chicken in honey and chilli sauce; while I had the king prawns kung po.

Frankly I have never been disappointed here yet. The cuisine was as good as ever. BP gave the chicken the thumbs-up; I relished my big, juicy prawns, served with plenty of vegetables, including a few baby carrots.

Pudding consisted of strawberry cheesecake with whipped cream for me; while BP had the banana fritters.

We concluded the meal with coffee, accompanied by the complimentary after-dinner mint and Chinese biscuit.

At two-thirty on Friday afternoon, I was taken to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Belfast's suite of rooms on the first floor of City Hall, Donegall Square. The rooms look on to Donegall Square West.

I entered the Lord Mayor's Parlour, a splendid room with a long, large dining or display table, which dominates the room.

It has various silver items displayed, including a regimental cigarette box, engraved and lined with a fine veneered wood.

One wall has photographic signed portraits of The Queen and Prince Philip. The side-table is groaning with more antique silverware.

This suite of rooms has fine plasterwork.

In a few minutes the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Alderman Gavin Robinson, entered.

The Lord Mayor showed me various items of interest, and his suite of rooms, including a dressing-room (with shower, wardrobe and wash-basin).

The wardrobe contains vintage mayoral attire, including tricorne hat and ceremonial robe. I wonder who else has worn this very attire, other than the Earl of Belmont (!).

The mayoral badge and chain of office weigh about a stone.

The Lord Mayor placed it on my shoulders and, I assure you, it is unforgettable.

Beyond the mayoral boudoir is the Lord Mayor's study; and the Lady Mayoress's parlour.

These rooms have fire-places.

I spent an hour with the Lord Mayor, discussing private and civic matters, including HMS Caroline and mayoral transport. He was particularly interested to hear about my interest in the heritage of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

I took my leave at about three-thirty on Friday afternoon, when the Lord Mayor presented me with several official gifts ~ tokens of this most memorable visit.

Saturday, 15 September 2012

I arrived at Bennett's On Belmont at about five-thirty on Friday afternoon. It was fairly quiet, with two or three tables occupied; about six diners altogether.

I recall these premises as having been the main hall of Victoria Unionist Association. In the 1990s, the premises were converted for use as a cycle retailer (Bike-It, I think); then Bennett's acquired the unit.

The entrance is in a position where there are a few steps, because Belmont Road is on a slope.

I always felt that it would be better moving the door up the road, where it is more level; however, Bennett's don't own the building. Perhaps this suggestion has already been made.

I walked up to the counter, sat up at a bar-stool, turned on the netbook and perused the black-board.

Unfortunately I was unable to obtain a wi-fi connection; Bennett's do not have their own wi-fi at present.

First impressions were of a warm diner: Informal, relaxed, friendly staff; clean and generally welcoming.

The black-board had several tempting items, including John Dory fillets with buttery mash, broad and green beans, and fried sage leaves.

It cost £12.50.

Service was prompt and it arrived within five minutes, I'd say. I liked it. The fish was mild, delicate and moist, though the fillets were small.

By this stage, more people were arriving. Bennett's is licensed, by the way.

I fancied a traditional pudding. The warm apple crumble with cream, at £4.50, sounded the business.

It arrived in a large, deep bowl. There must have been the equivalent of two apples, I imagine! A good crumble topping, with chocolate melted on top. This worked well. Delicious.

Much as I am tempted, I cannot find any major criticisms of Bennett's at all.

Thursday, 6 September 2012

His Royal Highness The Duke of York has been meeting staff and students involved in apprenticeships during his official visit to Northern Ireland.

During his first engagement, Prince Andrew visited Northgate Managed Services in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, to meet with staff and apprentices involved in its ICT Apprenticeship Scheme.

MRS JOAN CHRISTIE OBE

HRH, who is the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, was greeted by Mrs Joan Christie OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, and went on to meet Mr A Ross, Chief Executive, who accompanied HRH during the engagement.

Prince Andrew met with senior management and current and former apprentices to hear about the work of Northgate- the first IT company to launch an IT Apprenticeship Scheme in Northern Ireland.

Prince Andrew later visited Northern Regional College in Ballymena to see how apprentices there are being trained. HRH was greeted on arrival by His Worship the Mayor of Ballymena, Alderman P J McAvoy.

He also met the Hon Ian Paisley, MP for North Antrim, Dr Stephen Farry MLA, Minister, Department for Employment and Learning, and Trevor Neilands, Principal & Chief Executive of the Northern Regional College.

His Royal Highness began his tour with a visit to the Toyota Academy, where he met with staff and students and heard at first hand how the academy ensures a focus on apprenticeship and adult training, with highly qualified technical staff and well resourced facilities.

Joanne Donaghey, a Level 3 Mechatronics Apprentice, presented HRH with a gift of a puzzle/pen holder which had been designed and manufactured in the Engineering Centre.

Prince Andrew's final engagement was at a garden party at Hillsborough Castle, County Down, on Thursday afternoon.

The garden party was hosted by the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The Duke of York met about 2,500 invited guests from across Ulster society.

Nick Collins, Science Correspondent at the Daily Telegraph, reports that eating a portion of oily fish such as salmon or mackerel three times a week could help to protect the muscles from deterioration in old age by doubling the benefits of exercise, experts claim.

A combination of regular doses of fish oil and gym exercises improved the muscular strength of a group of women in their late sixties by 20 per cent in a new study.

A control group who took part in the twice-weekly, 30-minute exercise sessions but did not take fish oil increased their muscle power by 11 per cent.

Over the course of the 12-week study, those who took the fish oils also made noticeably larger improvements in tests of their balance, walking speed and time taken to get up from a chair.

Speaking at the British Science Festival, researchers from Aberdeen University said the difference could be down to the effects of DHA and EPA, types of Omega 3 fatty acid found in fish oil that have anti-inflammatory properties.

As a normal part of ageing, muscle size reduces by between 0.5 per cent and two per cent a year in older people, a condition known as sarcopenia.

After our mid-thirties our body’s ability to build muscle through exercise alone begins to diminish, meaning it is difficult for older people to resist muscle wastage.

Researchers said the fish oils could work by combating the low-level inflammation that is typical in older people and hampers the ability of the muscles to build power and mass.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday evening, 5th September, and was guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the Minister
of State, Northern Ireland Office, Mike Penning MP, in recognition of the
role of Apprenticeships in the Northern Ireland Economy.

Prince Andrew met with invited guests from a wide range of Ulster
companies and employers who benefit from the Apprenticeships NI
programme, as well as young apprentices who have taken part in the
scheme.

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Formerly the Ulster seat of the 5th Duke and Duchess of Westminster, Ely Lodge, County Fermanagh, sits on the southern shore of Lower Lough Erne.

It has an association through marriage with the Hume family. Lord Ely married the daughter of Sir Gustavus Hume (of Hume Castle) and they lived at Ely Castle.In 1870, the castle was in danger of collapsing and was demolished. The stable block remained, and was converted and extended to become Ely Lodge.In 1948, Ely Lodge became the home of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Grosvenor, Lord Hugh Grosvenor's younger son; who subsequently became 5th Duke of Westminster.

The 5th Duke's mother was Lady Mabel Crichton, of Crom Castle, and the Duke spent much of his childhood at Crom.

The late 5th Duke's son, the 6th and present Duke of Westminster, was born at Omagh, County Tyrone. The 6th Duke was then known as Gerald, Earl Grosvenor; and both he and his sisters spent their childhood at Ely Lodge.Ely Lodge remained part of the Westminster Estates till about 1987, when Viola, Dowager Duchess of Westminster, Lord-lieutenant of County Fermanagh, was tragically killed in a car accident.

In
1994, Charles Plunket, the former
land agent who inherited the estate on the Duchess's death, sold the estate privately.

The Right Honourable Theresa Villiers MP is the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Unless I am mistaken, the family pronounces their name as in "Villerz".

Theresa Anne Villiers, born in 1968, is MP for Chipping Barnet. She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor in 2010.

Mrs Villiers was born in London, the daughter of George Edward Villiers and Anne Virginia (née Threlfall).

On her father's side she is a descendant of the Hon Edward Ernest Villiers, brother of George, 4th Earl of Clarendon, Charles Pelham Villiers and Henry Villiers.

She is also a distant relative of the actor James Villiers.

Growing up in north London, she was educated at the independent Francis Holland School; gained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree with first class honours in 1990 from the University of Bristol, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from Jesus College, Oxford, in 1991.

After graduating she worked as a barrister and as a lecturer at King's College London (1994–99); married fellow lawyer Sean Wilken in 1997; and the couple wrote an academic legal book. They have since divorced.

Monday, 3 September 2012

Sixty. Not the advanced age, Belmont hastens to add. I have a dozen years to go on that one. Ha!

Swimming at the old sports club began in earnest this evening; and I got to it like the proverbial duck to water. I swam sixty lengths.

The stroke I use is the front crawl. I noticed that swimmers at the Olympics had a certain technique, whereby, when they pushed themselves off the wall of the pool, they performed a sort of dolphin movement for a few seconds, prior to using their arms.

I am indebted to Alan, because his own blog, Alan In Belfast, inspired me to create Lord Belmont in 2007.

I wonder if he recalls my contacting him for advice about it five years ago? A year or so later, several of us met at a restaurant on the Belmont Road, Belfast, for a natter and meal.

You played a part in creating the Belmont Phenomenon - or should that be the Phenomenal Belmont? - Alan!

Alan has written another great post about his trip to the new National Trust Giant's Causeway visitor centre today; articulated to a far greater degree than my post about it three weeks ago.

To be truthful, my posting was slightly - shall we say - diplomatic, given that I really do whole-heartedly concur with Alan's sentiments on his experiences there, and the virtual golf-course he alludes to.

Castle Dillon, County Armagh, is on the market. The maximum reserve price is £250,000.

21 Bed Mansion House/Private Nursing Home

2-storey/9-bay centre block with single-storey/3bay wings

Numerous Reception Rooms/Bathrooms/Kitchens

Stores/Conservatory/Lift/Set in grounds overlooking Lake

Extensive Refurbishment will be required

Property Description

Castle Dillon House is externally a large and somewhat
austere mansion, built for Sir George Molyneux, 6th Baronet, in 1845.
The designer was William Murray.

It has a two-storey, nine-bay
centre block; with single-storey, three-bay wings. Both the entrance
front and the garden front, which faces the lake, are similar and plain,
apart from a pillared porch on the entrance front.

The interior
is no less austere: a large hall with a screen of columns dividing it
from a central corridor which ran the whole length of the House, with a
curved stair at one end.

At the garden front, a saloon flanked by
the dining-room and drawing-room. There was a library and a
morning-room on either side of the hall.

The entrance gates,
dating from 1760, once described as "the most costly park gates perhaps
at that time in the three kingdoms", were erected by Sir Capel Molyneux,
3rd Baronet.

Sir Capel also erected an obelisk near the Park in
order to commemorate the winning of independence by the Irish Parliament
in 1782.

The sizeable walled demesne lies in pleasantly
undulating countryside, with a lake at its centre. An anonymous guide
wrote in 1839 that,

‘… the demesne is laid out in a style of
elegance, rarely imitated in this country, and which would do honour to
the best taste. Here every natural advantage of hill, wood and water,
appears admirably improved by the correctest aid of art …’

It is
laid out as a mid-18th century landscape park, though there is little
remaining planting, with some woodland at the lake and very few parkland
trees. The site has been forested and intensively farmed in recent
years.

The first house was built circa 1611 and, when that was burnt in 1663, another followed.

The
walled garden has gone but two gate lodges survive, one possibly by Sir
William Chambers and an eye-catching obelisk erected in 1782, still
impresses outside the demesne walls.

The baronetcy became extinct
when the 10th Baronet, Sir Ernest, died in 1940; though Castle Dillon
was sold in 1926 and has served for various purposes, including a
nursing home for almost 20 years, since then.

The property
accommodated around 76 residents and was always around 98% full and very
successful. Unfortunately the company who acquired it from the Sandown
group of nursing homes got into financial difficulty and the property
was closed down and left vacant.

It was then vandalised but the main
structure is still excellent and can be reinstated as a Nursing Home
again as the demand for beds in the area is very high.

Another
possible use, subject to planning permission, would be a hotel and
leisure facility similar to Galgorm Manor and Spa or a Wedding Venue.
Another option to be considered is the conversion of the building into
luxury apartments.

Only very seldom does the opportunity to acquire a
property such as this arise and for interested parties, early viewing
is recommended.

Founded in 2007 by Timothy William Ferres: writing about a variety of topics including the Monarchy, the Nobility, the Gentry, Heraldry, Pageantry, History of the British Isles, Heritage, Country Houses, the National Trust, Conservation, Brackenber House School, Food, Drink, Sir P G Wodehouse, Travel.